Over My Dead Body: Body Donation and the Rise in Donor Registrations in the Netherlands

Contains fulltext : 101266.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access)In the Netherlands, the number of body donor registrations has been increasing for several years. Body donors are people who register at an anatomical institute to donate their entire body, after death, for scientific education and research. Although only 0.1% of the Dutch population is registered as a body donor, this is sufficient to realize the anatomical demand of about 650 bodies annually. Due to the recent rise of registrations many anatomical institutes have (temporarily) stopped registering new donors to prevent a surplus of bodies. Based on a large body donor survey (n = 759) and in-depth anthropological interviews with 20 body donors, we try to give an explanation for the rising registration numbers. We argue that the choice for body donation in contemporary, individualized Dutch society is an autonomous way to give meaning and sense to life and death outside the framework of institutionalized religion

Profile and Motivations of Registered Whole‐Body Donors in Turkey: Istanbul University Experience

Little is known regarding the profiles of whole body donors in Muslim majority countries where donation is scarce. Therefore, this study aims to profile registered donors in Turkey by means of a survey. The explored data could be used to improve ongoing campaign efforts and ethical practices such as commemoration services. Registered donors of the donation programs at the two faculties of medicine of Istanbul University were compared with the national population and a cluster analysis was performed to reveal any concealed sub-groups. Data from 188 respondents were analyzed. The majority of registered donors were married (42%), male (65.4%), aged over 50 years (76%), held a tertiary education degree (49.7%), and were irreligious (58.5%). Cluster analysis revealed two groups with significantly different educational levels, marital statuses, and religious choices. Regarding whether their bodies could be used for education or research, the majority (64.5%) of the respondents left the decision to the anatomy department. Similarly, 73.8% approved indefinite use of their organs, body parts and/or skeletons. The respondents were also willing to share their medical history (94.2%) and personal information (81.6%) if needed. Motivational themes for body donation including usefulness, impermanence, religion, awareness, and kinship were devised after a thematic analysis. Among the respondents, 56.5% were registered organ donors and 63.3% were frequent blood donors. The results of this study provide data that may help revising informed consent forms, developing and implementing thanksgiving ceremonies, and selecting additional targets for supporting body donation campaign activities such as organ and blood donation units

A good death – can the concept be applied to anatomy?

The importance of patient‐centered decisions is embedded throughout clinical practice. The principle that the patient is at the center of all decisions has helped form the contemporary approach to death and dying. The concept of a ‘good death’ will naturally mean different things to different individuals, but is based on the foundation of being pain free, comfortable and able to make informed decisions. Potential donors are faced with many personal, ethical and often spiritual considerations when they come to think about their wishes after death. One consideration is that of a ‘good death’. This article explores how the concept of a ‘good death’ may be applied to anatomy. Where first person consent is in place, the motivating factors frequently include the wish for others to learn from the donation, and this notion may form part of the ‘good death’ for the donor. Such motivations may impact positively on how students feel about dissecting and may provide comfort, assuaging feelings of discomfort and allowing students to focus on anatomical learning. For donors where second person consent is in place, the concept of a ‘good death’ must depend on whether the individual wanted to donate their body in the first instance. The notion of a ‘bad death’ may also be considered with body donation where no consent for donation is in place. This article proposes that there is ultimately a place for the concept that a ‘good death’ may involve an individual donating their body to medical education